To begin with, I forgot to mention in my last post that the blog will also log website updates. I added a simple favicon to the website. It is an old Windows XP icon called "Get Support." I also added a fixed "to the top" button on the side of the blog so visitors can get back to the top of the page quicker. The icon is not mine, so I gave credit in the footer of the page. Also, click here for a random RPG battle screen designed with HTML and CSS. All assets in the battle screen are copyright to their respective franchises.

I have been playing around with BASH scripting. I made one useless BASH script that logs Neofetch as an HTML file using aha. The point? Science? Just to see if I could? We will go with all of the above. I am running Debian Linux 13 with a GNOME graphical interface. I used Visual Studio Code for the script writing since I do not like working in terminal text editors. I also used libnotify to alert the user of the action. I began with the basics, starting my scripts with a simple shebang so the system knows which interpreter to use.

“She bangs, she bangs. Oh baby, when she moves, she moves.” Anyways, comments are sprinkled throughout the script because comments are good and necessary in any programming. Zero exist in the HTML and CSS for this website. I need a path, so I chose my "Downloads" directory as the place for this HTML file. I use "Downloads" more like a trash bucket than the actual "Trash" directory at times.

My user-defined variable is DIRECTORY. Its string value points to the default "Downloads" directory. I included the environment variable for the current username in that directory path. Next, I ran Neofetch and piped it into aha. The --black option creates a black background in the HTML file. My user-defined variable is used to save the file in my "Downloads" directory. Finally, I send the user (most likely just me) a notification through notify-send in the graphical interface showing the success message and the directory where the file was created.

Below is the final product. Of course, chmod +x ~/path/to/file/neofetch_log.sh will need to be run to turn the shell script into an executable. That concludes this post about my useless BASH script. It is a learning process. I have also included official links below to all software mentioned here.

• Software Links
  • Debian Linux: https://www.debian.org/
  • GNOME: https://www.gnome.org/
  • Visual Studio Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/
  • Neofetch: https://github.com/dylanaraps/neofetch
  • aha: https://github.com/theZiz/aha
  • libnotify: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libnotify

+ PhotonJammer +

I've created this blog on Neocities to document my journey as I transition to a new career. I have been an automotive technician for some time, but I've also dabbled in retail, factory work, machine operating, sheet metal mechanics, truck driving, and even tech support. While I make good money in my current career, it's not what I need in my life right now. I'm around forty years old, and changing careers at this point is not the easiest thing to do. Ten-hour days working on cars leave me exhausted. My family has needs when I'm at home, and there is little time for myself. I enjoy my work, but I feel stuck, and I want to find that “out” I've been searching for. I'm not a very social person, but I want to see what I can accomplish here.

I'm not putting much money into this at the beginning. Neocities hosts websites much like GeoCities did back in the day. I may move onto my own domain in the future. We will see where this goes. I learned a bit of HTML in the 1990s and 2000s while playing around with simple GeoCities websites. Nothing ever became popular, more like small time wasters. Recently, I tried the full-stack programming track through Codecademy. I learned a lot about HTML5 and CSS. I also started learning JavaScript and Python, but I didn't retain much. The learning experience was not ideal for me. With my tired body and mind at the end of the day, I dropped it like I do with most things I try to start outside of automotive. I'm hoping this blog may give me the push I need.

Things on this website will change over time, including design, content, or added information. I wanted to use something I could actually code myself instead of relying on a blog creator website. I plan to use this space as a portfolio to showcase projects or highlight my interests. I'm not much of a writer, but I want to practice. I need to work on my creativity and imagination, qualities that tend to fade with age and being stuck in the work and survival grind. I'm considering working toward CompTIA certifications as a first step. Coming from automotive service, transitioning into IT service seems like a natural route.

I'm not going to go too deep into personal details. I want to stay anonymous online and will not be sharing any information about myself. I need a handle, and I've come up with PhotonJammer. It feels fitting given my generation and interests. My next blog entry will showcase some of my work. I'm considering creating automated scripts in BASH. As the title of my website suggests, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm winging it, learning by doing, and open to any help or suggestions. My email will be at the bottom of the page. I'm very curious to see where this journey goes from here.

+ PhotonJammer +